Scare away costume expenses

Special for the Republic

As the mother of three boys, Vicki Connell knows all too well how expensive it can be to buy Halloween costumes.

"It is hard to invest a lot of money for a Halloween costume that you know they'll wear for a couple of hours," said Vicki, a Buckeye resident and editor of West Valley Family Magazine.

Connell's friend, Sandy Robinson, who has two boys of her own, also is plenty familiar with the annual expense required to transform young kids into Batman or Spiderman.
  
So Connell and Robinson, a Goodyear resident and president of SWValleyParent.com, joined forces to co-host the inaugural Halloween Costume Exchange fund-raiser Saturday on the Litchfield Park Library lawn.

Robinson said parents may bring gently used Halloween costumes to the event and exchange them for free for other ones. Parents who don't have a costume to donate may purchase one for $5, with the proceeds going to Arizona's Children Association - Nuestra Familia in Tolleson.

"We thought it would be a great community event because they could do it for free," Robinson said. "People can come in and get a voucher for the number of costumes, and then we'll open shopping at 9:45 and they can use their voucher to buy other costumes."

Homemade costumes are also welcome, Robinson said, adding that parents should try to give a ballpark estimate of the size. All costumes that are donated must be on a hanger, from size newborn to 12, and most importantly, in good condition and ready to wear on Halloween.

"We ask that it's clean and include all of the accessories," she said.

In addition to the costume exchange, the event will also feature a coloring contest, an inflatable bouncer, raffle prizes and refreshments for sale from Leap's Frozen Custard.

Robinson said she and Connell are hoping for a big turnout.

"We've had lots of good feedback on the concept and idea of the event," she said.